Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone was a brilliant television series hosted, written, and produced by Rod Serling from 1959-1964. While many episodes dwelt on cosmic questions and ideas, some were little more than ghost stories. Most episodes had a surprise twist ending which made the viewer reappraise everything they had seen up to that point.

The show has appeared in three separate incarnations, airing in the 1950-60's, the mid 1980s, and in 2002. Neither of the two revivals was nearly as prolific as the original, both having been rather quickly canceled. One lasting side-effect of the 1980's revival is that J. Michael Straczynski and Harlan Ellison became friends, which set the stage for their cooperation on Babylon 5.